


Destination Party at Rainbow Road

by Cryptographic_Delurk



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Birthday Party, M/M, Mario Kart, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Pudding, Punch Bowl, Stressed Out Yuugi, The Reappearance of Bisexual Disaster Jounouchi, and Mai & Jounouchi are extremely inappropriate friends, awkward Atem, but Atem's there, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26518279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryptographic_Delurk/pseuds/Cryptographic_Delurk
Summary: Yuugi has had a trying birthday week, and when Atem isn’t able to get together a birthday present, Yuugi asks him to ask Jounouchi out for them instead.Atem is not particularly well suited for this task. Especially when Jounouchi is so easily distracted by girls, and pudding, and video games.
Relationships: Atem/Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mutou Yuugi, Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Rebecca Hopkins | Rebecca Hawkins/Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	Destination Party at Rainbow Road

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for [YGO Polyship Week](https://ygotplusweek.tumblr.com/). Read & Relax~

Streamers were hung over the open door to the Kame Game Shop. Balloons were bouncing against each other on the ceiling. There was a tray of hamburger sliders set out on the plastic folding table. And Yuugi was setting out a bowl of punch next to it, with slices of apple and orange and pineapple bobbing in the bright red liquid. Everything was in place. And Atem knew this because he’d watched Yuugi as he’d arranged and adjusted and micromanaged every square inch of the shop and the bottom floor of the house in preparation.

Yuugi had insisted he was going to throw the best birthday party ever. And he was going to do it while he kept the shop open. And he was going to manage all of it himself. Even though it was his own birthday. Because he could do this. Even and especially with Grandpa Mutou in the hospital.

Atem had watched this develop, and it was difficult to feel capable of more than that. His partner had never really struck him as the controlling type before, but strange circumstances brought out strange things in people. And Yuugi had very politely and assertively refused all help offered to him and insisted on going through with everything, exactly as he envisioned, exactly as he had planned.

Still, it didn’t hurt to try. Atem stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked to and fro on his feet. “Uh, Yuugi, is there anything you need?”

“Not a thing,” Yuugi said.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to man the counter, so you can enjoy your party a bit?”

“No, it’s my responsibility,” Yuugi said curtly. And on cue he strode behind the counter and triple checked the stock list, the register. He looked at the Duel Monsters cards and the piles of dice and figurines under the glass.

Atem winced a little. He drew his fingers across the cabinet’s edge. “I’m sorry I didn’t get you a birthday gift, partner.”

Yuugi hadn’t been angry about it, really. So much as dismissive to the point of aloofness and uncaring. It hurt in its own way, but Atem was at least partly to blame. It had been a busy couple of weeks in pro gaming, between Duel Monsters card releases and fighting games tournaments and interviews and Niconico. And it had only become busier when Atem had to cancel his plans for gift shopping with Anzu in order to accommodate hospital visits and meetings with extended family. But if he hadn’t left everything until the last moment…

“It’s fine,” Yuugi said. “But, actually, I gave that some thought-”

Atem perked up, glad to have an in on a discussion. One that might give him a way to make this easier for Yuugi instead of harder.

“Well, actually you already know what I want. Or who I want…” Yuugi said coyly.

Atem probably looked as confused as he felt. _Your grandfather? Back safe from the hospital?_ he began to say.

Yuugi cut him off before he was even halfway through the first word. “I meant Jounouchi!” he snapped.

 _Oh right!_ Atem remembered this discussion. One they’d exchanged between lazy kisses and fluttering eyelashes, about fantasies and flings and the strange line the two of them had walked in their friendship with Jounouchi.

“I just mean, he’ll be here at the party,” Yuugi said. “And now’s as good a time to ask as ever so I thought you might-” Yuugi shrugged in a way that looked terribly nonchalant, “-ask for me.”

Truthfully Atem found the prospect kind of embarrassing. What if Jounouchi refused him? And Yuugi had always been better at this kind of thing – the hard work of reaching out to people.

But Yuugi had had a terrible couple of weeks, and had worked so hard in spite of it to throw this party for everyone else, even if it didn’t seem like he’d be able to enjoy it himself. And this was the first thing he’d asked Atem to help with.

“Of course, partner,” Atem agreed.

“Great. Super!” Yuugi said in a perfunctory sort of way. He leaned over to give Atem a quick peck on the lips, before turning back to the stock list and checking off a box with a measured flick of his wrist.

Atem knew it was a just a coincidence. But for a second he couldn’t help but think that he’d become a box on Yuugi’s checklist, part of Yuugi’s carefully controlled and infallible plan. To happen exactly as he’d envisioned it.

==

Jounouchi arrived at the party with Anzu and Rebecca. Sometime after Mokuba kicked his brother out of the limo, and Kaiba had bunked down under a blanket in the corner of the game room. And after Bonz had dropped by with a present wrapped in grey and black paper. After several customers had entered the shop with questions about both the party and the merchandise, which Atem only got halfway answered before Yuugi intervened and corralled them away because he was the shopkeeper here. But it was sometime before Honda and Otogi arrived and immediately made a game of who could serve Shizuka punch and shrimp chips first. Definitely before the entire Roba family descended on them and made a mess of the snack table.

Atem tried to tidy the table up himself, but Yuugi shooed him away with a few flicks of his arm, and then practically ran to and fro – between snack buffet and the kitchen and the shop register.

“He seems a little high strung,” Honda noted ponderously.

Atem pursed his lips and shrugged helplessly.

“You’re doing a good job though,” Honda said firmly.

“I hardly feel like I’m doing anything.” Although there was at least one thing Atem should have been doing, and wasn’t.

“You’re here,” Honda said. “And you’ll be here when he finally stops spinning his wheels and needs someone to fall back on.” Honda was always like that – confident in your worth, and eager to nurture the desire in you to see it.

Atem supposed Honda had been like that with Jounouchi too, and might have some advice. But on Honda’s other side, Otogi was taking the opportunity to press a kiss to the palm of Shizuka’s hand, and Honda’s full attention returned there to sputter and spit jealously.

Atem sighed and wandered off to find Jounouchi, resigned.

He ran into Anzu first though. She was wearing bike shorts, and a pink and white windbreaker, and smelled as if she’d just come in from a run. Rebecca didn’t seem to mind though, and had her arm linked with Anzu’s even as she schooled Rex Raptor in palaeontology.

“How are you holding up?” Anzu asked. “Did you get a present worked out?”

“I- Kind of,” Atem said sheepishly.

“You know, I felt a little bit snubbed,” Anzu scolded. “Getting stood up like that on Tuesday.”

Atem opened his mouth to apologise. Although he wasn’t really sure what else he could have done.

“I’m just giving you a hard time,” Anzu cut him off, before he could.

“Yuugi wants me to ask Jounouchi out for him,” Atem blurted. He needed to tell someone, and Anzu had always been his confidant.

Anzu had the audacity to laugh at him. “Really? That’s- Good luck,” she giggled. “He’s over that way, tiger.”

Rebecca was tugging on her arm, and Anzu leaned down to peck Atem on the forehead. “Catch up more later,” she waved, as she was dragged off.

And then it was just Jounouchi, who was shuffling through the pockets of his coat, thrown in the pile with the others. He seemed to be flicking through a pile of receipts and landed on a stick of gum, which he unwrapped and stuck under his tongue.

“Hey, Atem.” He waved joyfully. “I saw Yuugi already.”

“I’m sure he was glad to see you,” Atem said.

“Not sure,” Jounouchi shrugged casually. “He was greeting everyone from behind the counter. When I told him to get outta there and enjoy his own party he snapped and shooed me away.”

_Ah, it was good to know exactly how little Yuugi had set the stage for this task._

“He seems to know what he’s doing business-wise at least.” Jounouchi popped his gum, and began walking them through the crowd over to the punch bowl. “I’ve seen him run a whole slew of sales, and it’s not even halfway to closing time.”

“He’s innovative,” Atem said. Because he didn’t want to say he was sure that Yuugi would manage the store well, when the time came.

“Yeah!” Jounouchi agreed, with a big toothy smile. He poured himself a cup of punch, and skimmed a few extra slices of apple off the top. “How ‘bout you? Did you win your big fighting game tournament?”

Atem relayed the details the best he could. Jounouchi seemed intent, even as Atem rattled off the more obscure aspects of character combos and play style. It was flattering. Jounouchi had always been lovely and flattering like that.

“You gotta make some time to show me your fighting style sometime,” Jounouchi said. “Though I guess I’ve been busy between duels and part-timer stuff.”

Atem thought this sounded like about the best chance he was going to get. He could invite Jounouchi to stay late after the party to check out Atem’s gaming setup, and it would be just the three of them, and they could take things from there.

“Hey, did you notice how Anzu and Rebecca are all over each other?” Jounouchi said, before Atem could say anything. “I met up with the two of them at the train station, you know. It’s _weird_ , isn’t it?”

“Um-” Atem wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t feel he could insult Anzu by calling her anything as gauche as ‘weird’.

“I mean two girls is-” Jounouchi sucked a lascivious breath through his teeth. “I mean it’s _hot_ , and good for Anzu. And it’s not that Rebecca didn’t grow up nicely. But even though we’re only four years older than her, it’s still like- We knew her when she was a pretentious know-it-all preteen brat, you know?”

Atem had no idea what to say about this either. He never knew what to say when Jounouchi and the others got like this.

“Omigod?! Is that Mai?!” Jounouchi effused. “I gotta go talk to her!” He gulped down the rest of the punch, probably washing down his gum with it, and beelined to the store front where Mai had appeared.

Atem watched dumbly, as Mai peeled off her jacket and tossed it at Jounouchi. They broke into conversation with their mouths moving a mile a minute. Mai flung her arm over Jounouchi’s shoulder, and Jounouchi responded in kind. And for a minute they just leered at each other, in a tug-of-war over who got to lean on who’s shoulder. And then Jounouchi reached down and slapped Mai’s butt. And Mai bit her lip and reached behind and slapped _his_ butt, before grabbing his arm and dragging him off in the opposite direction towards where Shizuka was sitting. Jounouchi followed two steps behind after her, and spent the whole time with his eyes raking over the nape of her neck and back and behind.

 _Well that was certainly a splash of cold water_. Atem reached for the ladle in the punch bowl, and dolled a generous helping of punch into a plastic cup. He sipped at it idly and awkwardly. And then Weevil Underwood dropped out of the wings and careened straight into him, so the punch sloshed over the side of his glass.

“Watch where you’re going, numbnuts!” Weevil hissed. Even though he was the one that bumped into Atem.

Atem shoved him back, and the fight escalated from there. Until Yuugi showed up to pull them apart.

==

Yuugi had sat Atem down on the floor behind the Kame Game sales counter in imposed time-out. But Atem found it more calming than humiliating, to curl in the corner as Yuugi bustled over him, fetching Duel Monster foils out from under the counter for customers and party goers alike.

It was a while before Yuugi had reached a break in his work, and even then he scribbled a pen over the back of the shop list, in wider and smaller circles.

“Er, partner-” Atem interrupted.

“Yes?” Yuugi asked.

“Are you sure Jounouchi even likes men?” Atem asked.

There was a twitch under Yuugi’s eye. “Yes,” he said testily.

“Are you sure, because-”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Yuugi said.

“It’s just I saw him with Mai earlier and-”

“They’re just friends,” Yuugi scoffed. “Which- Are you even one to talk? You should know, seeing as you and Anzu are friends in exactly the same flirty kind of way.”

Atem was not sure they were friends in _exactly_ the same kind of way. He’d never particularly had a problem keeping his eyes trained at Anzu’s face. He’d certainly never slapped Anzu’s butt.

“How do you know?” Atem asked.

“Because I know you guys,” Yuugi huffed. “Look, just ask him out already! It’s not that hard!”

 _If it’s not that hard, why don’t you do it yourself?_ Atem thought.

But he didn’t say that. Because Yuugi wouldn’t accept his help on anything else, and this was meant to be his birthday gift to Yuugi.

Yuugi rolled his eyes, and reached for Atem’s hands and foisted him up to his feet. Pulling him forward just in time so that Atem’s head missed bumping against the shelves on the wall above him as he rose.

“I love you,” Yuugi said sulkily.

“Me too,” Atem agreed. But his lips had only barely brushed Yuugi’s cheek when Yuugi cast him out from behind the counter.

It took Atem longer to find Jounouchi than he thought it would. He ran into Rex in the corridor to the bathrooms, and received a half-hearted apology for Weevil’s behaviour. He’d found Mutou-chan in the kitchen and watched as she arranged flowers. And he’d been drawn into a riveting discussion with Ryouta in the dining room about the effects of commercial fishing on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And he’d run into Anzu twice more to boot, before he finally found Jounouchi with Kaiba in the game room den.

It seemed that Kaiba’s competitive spirit had driven everyone else away. But the two of them were holding controllers for Mario Kart, and it seemed Jounouchi had given up trying to actually win the race, so much as throw as many koopa shells at Kaiba’s car as possible. Jounouchi also had a spoon dangling from his mouth, and was nursing a giant party-sized bowl of marble pudding on his lap.

“Hey, Atem!” he called, without looking away from the TV screen. And then cursed and thrust the controller down as Kaiba pulled first place. _Again_. He waved for Atem to come join them. “This pudding’s really good by the way,” he said. “What’s it got? Tapioca balls? It’s really good.”

Atem watched as Jounouchi scraped the bowl with the spoon, and shovelled a giant gob of the pudding in his mouth. It was kind of disgusting. And obscene. But also endearing. Jounouchi was good at straddling those lines.

Atem shuffled, and then hurried to sit down, on the free space on the couch between where Kaiba and Jounouchi were sitting.

Kaiba peeked out at him, from under the blanket he’d commandeered, and grunted tiredly. “Finally some decent competition,” he said, and shoved a third game controller at Atem.

“Hey! Watch it!” Jounouchi protested. But it was oddly unheated.

This might not be asking Jounouchi out, Atem reasoned to himself, but it was kind of setting the stage for it. Making things more amiable and relaxing.

Atem was about to win the first race, when Jounouchi’s saboteur attempts backfired, and his koopa shell hit missed his intended target and hit Atem instead.

“Oops,” Jounouchi said dumbly.

“Incompetent ‘til the end,” Kaiba griped, as he sped past across the finish line.

“Man, shut up!” Jounouchi bristled.

At that moment Atem intended to scoot closer to Jounouchi. To reassure him that he wasn’t mad about the koopa shell. And also to maybe indicate his okayness. In being close to Jounouchi, that was.

But instead Kaiba slumped over Atem’s shoulder with a weary sigh. And, wow, Kaiba looked really exhausted. Atem wondered just how much and how hard Kaiba had been working, because he looked absolutely beat.

It would have been cold, maybe even dishonourable to scoot away from Kaiba at this point. So Atem let him stay there. They played another few rounds. And another few rounds after that. And switched games at some point. And then somehow an hour and a half had passed, the game room had filled and emptied with spectators multiple times over, the latest being Yuugi, who stood over them with his arms crossed and an expression of extreme frustration.

“Atem, may I speak with you for a moment.” He gave a thin, insincere smile.

Jounouchi paused the game. Kaiba straightened in his seat.

“Of course,” Atem capitulated, and got up.

“Ooh, somebody’s in the doghouse~” Jounouchi said in a low, teasing voice.

“Strange that it’s not you for once,” Kaiba snipped. And then- “Please, you set yourself up for that one,” when Jounouchi glared at him.

Atem missed the rest of their bickering when he followed Yuugi to the doorway.

“What are you doing?” Yuugi asked.

“Setting the stage,” Atem said. “To, uh, make my move.”

Yuugi’s eyes narrowed. “Then why is Kaiba the one leaning on you?”

“He seemed tired,” Atem offered weakly.

Yuugi just glared at him.

“What happened to the store front?” Atem asked, in a desperate bid to change the subject. “Is someone manning the counter?”

Yuugi pouted. “Anzu and Rebecca staged an invasion and booted me out.”

Atem nodded appreciatively. Anzu and Rebecca were truly twin forces of nature to behold.

Yuugi pouted more. “And then Mom threw me out of the kitchen.”

“I’m sure Anzu can handle it. She’s sat in at the shop for you before,” Atem reassured. It went unsaid that he, himself, had done the same from time to time when he asked- “Should I go see about relieving her?”

Yuugi was back to glaring now. “No! You haven’t done the one thing I’ve asked you to today-!”

“Hey, guys?!” Jounouchi called from inside the game room. “Is there any more of this pudding anywhere? I’m kinda-”

“I’ll get that for you, Jounouchi!” Atem jumped at the task.

Yuugi watched him wearily as he rushed back in the room, to retrieve the empty pudding bowl from Jounouchi, and then rush through the doorway.

He deposited the dirty bowl with Mutou-chan in the kitchen. But it seemed they were fresh out of pudding, so he meandered for a bit before finding some of the curry flavoured crisps Jounouchi liked. He arranged a tray of that, some hamburger sliders for Yuugi, and poured a cup of punch for Kaiba, who seemed like he could use something to take the edge off.

He ran into Keith on the way back to the den.

“Fighting the good fight?” Keith asked. He had changed a lot, since he’d gotten sober.

“Always,” Atem agreed.

Keith stole a few of the curry crisps, and rattled off a pair of finger guns, before resuming his conversation with Ryouta.

Atem shuffled back into the game room, where Jounouchi and Kaiba were still lounging in front of the TV. Yuugi was apart from them, fussing about trying to clean up and fluff pillows and maybe steal the blanket back from Kaiba to fold.

“Sorry, there wasn’t any more pudding,” Atem apologised to Jounouchi.

“Don’t sweat it,” Jounouchi said, happily accepting the bowl of crisps.

Atem wordlessly handed Kaiba the cup of punch, who accepted it silently but graciously, with a little raise of his hand, before downing it.

He brought the hamburger sliders over to Yuugi, who frowned. And after a moment, Atem placed the tray down on a nearby cabinet instead.

Yuugi dragged him as far away from the others as he could, while still being in the same room, and spoke quietly under the sound of their computer game. “You didn’t even get Jounouchi what he wanted, and you brought punch for Kaiba?!?”

“He looked like he needed it,” Atem shrugged weakly.

Yuugi sighed. “This is your problem – you’re treating him like a friend. You’re treating _everyone_ like a friend.”

“But we are friends,” Atem said.

“Yes, but we want to be more than that with Jounouchi!” Yuugi hissed. He took a deep breath. “Look, you need to go over there and do something that a friend wouldn’t do. Something… unambiguously romantic.”

Atem wilted a little. “But Kaiba’s right here.”

“I don’t care that Kaiba’s right here!” Yuugi snapped. “You- You- Do it!”

“Okay,” Atem agreed. He laid what he hoped was a soothing hand over Yuugi’s shoulder. And then turned to face the challenge set before him.

He sat down on Jounouchi’s other side this time, so he wasn’t next to Kaiba this time. Jounouchi scooted over to make room for him but didn’t pause in shouting at the TV screen and his opponent. Atem waited for Jounouchi’s frustrated protests when Kaiba won again. And then- he felt so embarrassing he couldn’t look at Jounouchi’s face. But he tugged anxiously at the sleeve of Jounouchi’s shirt, and when Jounouchi turned to him he wrapped his arms loosely around Jounouchi’s waist and slumped into his chest.

For a second Jounouchi just sat there, but then his arms tightened around Atem, and he ran a hand up over the back of Atem’s head, fingers threading through his cornrows.

“Aw, things have been really difficult for you guys lately, huh?” Jounouchi said. “I understand. We all need a hug sometimes. And what are friends for, huh?”

And, well, Atem could practically hear Yuugi go into conniptions over the word ‘friend’, but things _had_ been difficult lately. And Jounouchi was warm and welcoming, and always there for them. And Atem relaxed and let himself just feel how comforting this was.

Kaiba made a gagging sound from the other side of the couch.

“Look! Don’t make me come over there!” Jounouchi snapped. “I’ll do it, rich boy! I’ll come over there and hug you too!”

Kaiba made some overly affronted form of protest, which sealed his fate. Jounouchi gave Atem one last squeeze, before leaning over to crowd and smother the squirming pile of blanket that Kaiba sunk into at the other end of the couch. And Yuugi was the one choking now.

Atem was feeling good about this though. “I think Yuugi needs a hug too, Jounouchi,” he said.

“Good idea,” Jounouchi agreed, and he abandoned a disgruntled Kaiba to flop off the couch and go corner Yuugi in the back of the room.

“Jounouchi,” Yuugi warned skittishly.

“Aw, c’mon, don’t fight it,” Jounouchi teased. “Atem’s right. You seem like you really need it.” He opened his arms, walked forward another step, and then waited for Yuugi to come to him the rest of the way.

And Yuugi did, more hesitantly than Atem would have thought. He walked forward, in little half steps, before leaning into Jounouchi’s chest and letting Jounouchi pull his arms up around him.

“Aw, Yuugi, it’s okay,” Jounouchi said. “You’ve been through a whole lot more this week than anyone needs to ever go through, you know? So you know you can just rest a little and let Atem and me and Anzu and Honda and everyone take care of things for you, right?”

Yuugi had curled his arm up under Jounouchi’s shoulder. “I know,” he said, in a watery voice, and sniffled into Jounouchi’s chest. And then finally, for the first time that day, relaxed.

Jounouchi just stood there, holding Yuugi for a time, and then chuckled. “Hey, Yuugi~ Happy Birthday~”

“I love you, Jounouchi,” Yuugi said. “I really love you, you know that?”

“Aw, I know,” Jounouchi giggled smugly. “You told me before. At the pier, remember? I love you too.”

Jounouchi was clearly not getting it, and maybe now Yuugi would have an appreciation for just how difficult the task he’d set Atem to was. But Yuugi was also brave, and that was what Atem liked about him. And he pressed up on his toes and tilted Jounouchi’s head down to press their lips together in a quick peck.

Jounouchi went wide eyed and bright red in the face, but he didn’t let go as Yuugi flopped back down onto his heels. Jounouchi gave Atem an embarrassed and panicked look over the top of Yuugi’s head.

Atem gave his best encouraging shrug, which just made Jounouchi seem more confused and panicked, until Atem simply gave him a thumbs up. At which point Jounouchi grabbed Yuugi by the waist, lifted him up, and smashed their mouths together with his eyes screwed shut.

They could talk more later, and with any luck Atem would get the chance to kiss them both. But for now his birthday present was safely delivered, and Yuugi seemed to have calmed down some, and he walked back around to the couch to slide into the seat next to Kaiba.

“All in a day’s work as the King of Games,” he said with a smile.

“Sure,” Kaiba grunted unenthusiastically, as he handed a game controller to Atem. “Just so long as nobody else tries to hug me.”

And then Honda walked into the room, saw the scene inside, and promptly dropped the punch bowl he was carrying.


End file.
